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Beyond Borders

Bowerbird
Mantra for two Pianos, 1972, Shiraz Arts Festival. Pictured: pianists Alfons Kontarsky and Aloys Kontarsky. Photo courtesy of Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik / Archaeology of the Final Decade Archives.
Mantra for two Pianos, 1972, Shiraz Arts Festival. Pictured: pianists Alfons Kontarsky and Aloys Kontarsky. Photo courtesy of Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik / Archaeology of the Final Decade Archives.
Orghast Part II, 1971, Shiraz Arts Festival. Photo courtesy of the Archaeology of the Final Decade Archives.
Orghast Part II, 1971, Shiraz Arts Festival. Photo courtesy of the Archaeology of the Final Decade Archives.
Caligula, 1974, Kargah-e Namayesh – Persepolis, Shiraz Arts Festival. Photo by Mehdi Khonsari, courtesy of the Archaeology of the Final Decade Archives.
Caligula, 1974, Kargah-e Namayesh – Persepolis, Shiraz Arts Festival. Photo by Mehdi Khonsari, courtesy of the Archaeology of the Final Decade Archives.

An exhibition and series of live performances and film screenings revisit the multicultural Shiraz Arts Festival, which was held annually in Iran from 1967 to 1977. With music, theater, dance, and film programming, the festival showcased classical, folk, and avant-garde artists spanning generations, languages, and cultures. Building on Center-supported research on effective ways to present this under-recognized history, the project examines the festival’s artistic achievements along with the social and political complexities of its time. The exhibition is bookended by a performance-installation “spectacle” featuring an interpretation of Iannis Xanakis’ electroacoustic composition Persepolis and a closing concert “fête” inclusive of a wide variety of performers.

The total grant amount represents project funding plus an additional 20% in unrestricted general operating support.

Recipient
Bowerbird

Bowerbird

Bowerbird is a presenting organization that expands public understanding of experimental music. Since 2006, the organization has produced over 600 events throughout the Philadelphia region, featuring music, dance, film, and related art forms.

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News

$9.5 Million From The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage to Support 30 Philadelphia Organizations and 12 Artist Fellowships

Sep 19, 2022
Explore Connections
Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses, 2025 installation view, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania. Photo by Constance Mensh.

Artist Carl Cheng on the Nature of Being Contemporary
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Mary Testa, Taylor Trensch, and Jordan Dobson in Night Side Songs at Philadelphia Theatre Company. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.
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Michelle Lopez, Ballast & Barricades solo exhibition, 2019-20. Photo by Constance Mensh, courtesy of the artist. 
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Pew Fellows Carmen Maria Machado and Vitche-Boul Ra. Photos by Neal Santos.
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EgoPo Classic Theater, rehearsal for Ramayana with Papermoon Puppet Theatre and Kalanari Theatre Movement, 2023, Java, Indonesia. Photo courtesy of EgoPo. 

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Pew Fellows Candice Iloh and Armando Veve. Photos by Neal Santos.

Fellow to Fellow: Candice Iloh and Armando Veve Find Inspiration in Each Other’s Mediums
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Enrique Bostelmann, Portrait of Cora Flores, 1980, part of Mirages series.

Projects in Process: Discoveries in the Archives with Berman Museum and Japan America Society
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